Talk

Caelyn Sandel

Caelyn Sandel is a novelist and narrative designer of speculative fiction, both interactive and static. She left Harmonix in late 2013 and has been working as a freelance writer since then. She is the rabble-rouser behind #RuinJam 2014 and is currently writing for Choice of Games, as well as via her own Patreon crowdfunding page.

As game development tools become more accessible, cheaper, and better distributed, voices that were previously given no platform in game design are finding new ways to speak up. The past few years have seen the development of unprecedented numbers of personal narratives in small games, many of which are written by and for marginalized people, and some of these games have received a lot of attention -- both good and bad. Caelyn Sandel will share a perspective on the rise of 'diary games' and similar interactive media from marginalized game designers, exploring the value in these creations as well as the pushback they receive.